Student who killed roommate apologizes

Lin Senhao, a former university student who killed his roommate by poisoning in April 2013, wrote a letter recently to apologize to the victim's parents, just before the second trial in the case was set to begin on Dec 8.

Lin, 28, was a postgraduate student at Fudan University's School of Medicine in Shanghai. He was convicted of intentionally killing roommate Huang Yang with a toxic chemical, and was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Feb 18.

Lin's family appealed the verdict and sought a second trial. The letter was disclosed on Monday by Shanghai news website xinmin.cn.

In the 1,500-word, handwritten letter, Lin said he felt sorry for Huang's parents and regretted what he had done.

"Now, I can do nothing but to say I'm sorry. Sorry, and I kneel down to ask for your forgiveness. I hope that you can take care of yourselves and be safe, and I hope that you can forgive me," Lin said in the letter.

Lin received the death sentence because the court found that he was hostile over trivial matters toward the victim, who also was a medical postgraduate student at Fudan University.

At the trial, it was established that Lin on March 31, 2013, spiked the water in the dispenser at their dormitory with a deadly chemical that he stole from a lab at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, where he worked as an intern. The chemical, N-nitrosodimethylamine, can damage the liver and alter the blood.

On April 1, Huang became sick after drinking the water containing the toxic chemical, and he died of organ failure 15 days later.

Lin admitted that he had added the chemical to the water. But he denied intending to kill Huang, saying it was just a prank for April Fools' Day.

However, prosecutors insisted that Lin had killed Huang intentionally, and they said he didn't give honest answers during initial inquiries.

Lin Senhao's father, Lin Zunyao, had attempted to collect money to compensate Huang's parents and apologize to the couple on behalf of his son, but was refused by the victim's parents, Lin Zunyao told xinmin.cn.

In May, more than 170 students from Fudan University signed a petition pleading for leniency for Lin. They sent the petition to Shanghai High People's Court, asking the court to spare Lin's life.

Meanwhile, Lin's letter to Huang's parents was viewed by some netizens as a way to win sympathy among the public and leniency in the second trial. But Wu Dong, a lawyer and also co-founder of Shanghai's Huiye Law Firm, said Lin's letter is unlikely to change the verdict in the second trail.

In Wu's opinion, the verdict will only be changed under two conditions: evidence is presented that Lin's action toward Huang was intended to injure, not kill; or Lin redeems himself with good deeds or service.

"We haven't seen any sign of either possibility, so I think the second trial is likely to uphold the original ruling," Wu said.